Bp. Martino: “My job as a Bishop is to promulgate the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church”

I also offer this postscript to those who criticize me for taking public stances that may not be popular or “politically correct,” or may not agree with their own personal notions of what “progressive” Catholic doctrine should be. My job as a Bishop is to promulgate the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church to all the faithful. I will continue to do so.

His Excellency Most Reverend Joseph Martino, of the Diocese of Scranton will soon need his very own category on WDTPRS. (See here and here and here.)

Bishop Joseph F. Martino has issued a reflection on how the teaching of diversity and tolerance relates to the teaching of the Catholic Church. The reflection follows:

A substantial amount of media coverage and public commentary ensued after I asked Misericordia University to seriously consider discontinuing its Diversity Institute. Students and others in the community related how this Institute has furthered the advancement of tolerance, understanding and harmony between people of different races and cultures.

These are all worthy goals. All people of good will should work toward these ends.

Misericordia University, as a Catholic institution, has a responsibility["responsibility"? In a Catholic school? What’s that?] for helping the community achieve these goals. However, precisely because it is a Catholic institution, it also has a responsibility to transmit Catholic teaching to its students in ways that are not ambiguous or confusing.

As I said in my previous statement, students should learn respect for all races and cultures, but viewpoints that are in direct opposition to Catholic teaching should not be presented under the guise of “diversity.”[THREE CHEERS!] Doing so within a formal structure sanctioned by the institution gives the impression that these viewpoints are acceptable, or that all morality is relative.

As Catholics, we must distinguish between authentic tolerance and an “anything goes” mindset. For example, would the Diversity Institute be justified in hosting a speaker who believes the Holocaust is a myth? [Oh my! Touché!] Or one who believes slavery is okay because certain people are inferior? Or one who believes women can be exploited because they are the “weaker sex”? There are people out there who actually believe this nonsense, and they would be perfectly willing to come to the campus to tell you why. [well done]

Their views are certainly “diverse,” but does that qualify them to be given a platform in the name of tolerance? Or should they be allowed to make a presentation without any retort from the Catholic perspective?

As Catholics, we believe there is an objective, moral Truth – given to us by Jesus Christ. This Truth is timeless, and it cannot be altered by the shifting tides of popular culture. If our faith and our actions are not rooted in this Truth, we risk contributing to the “dictatorship of relativism” cited by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in a homily given just prior to his election as Pope Benedict XVI. He said:

“To have a clear faith, according to the creed of the Church, is often labeled as fundamentalism. While relativism, that is, allowing oneself to be carried about with every wind of ‘doctrine,’ seems to be the attitude that is fashionable. A dictatorship of relativism is being constituted that recognizes nothing as absolute and which only leaves the ‘I’ and its whims as the ultimate measure.”

As the Bishop, it is not only my right, but my obligation to ensure that authentic Catholic teaching is being provided in all Catholic institutions in this Diocese, and that viewpoints in opposition to this teaching are not being presented as acceptable alternatives.

I voiced my “absolute disapproval” of Misericordia’s hosting of Keith Boykin not because of his sexual orientation, but because he is a well known proponent of morality that is disturbingly opposed to Catholic teaching, such as homosexual relations and same sex marriage. Furthermore, no presentation was made to balance Mr. Boykin’s viewpoints with the teaching of the Catholic Church.

That is why I asked Misericordia, which asserted that it “is committed deeply to its Catholic mission,” to convey how it teaches Catholic morality regarding sexuality and homosexuality, and to produce concrete evidence. [excellent] It is regrettable that the University chose to respond with a brief statement without any such evidence. [When this bishop asks for something, he really means it.]

Nevertheless, I continue to urge Misericordia University to fulfill the four essential characteristics of a Catholic institution of higher learning. As I pointed out in briefer form in my initial statement on this matter, these are:

1. A Christian inspiration not only of individuals but of the university community as such;

2. A continuing reflection in the light of the Catholic faith upon the growing treasury of human knowledge, to which it seeks to contribute by its own research;

3. Fidelity to the Christian message as it comes to us through the Church;

4. An institutional commitment to the service of the people of God and of the human family in their pilgrimage to the transcendent goal which gives meaning to life.

(Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution on Catholic Universities) [Can it be that a Catholic bishop in the USA is paying attention to Ex corde Ecclesiae?]

I also offer this postscript to those who criticize me for taking public stances that may not be popular or “politically correct,” or may not agree with their own personal notions of what “progressive” Catholic doctrine should be. My job as a Bishop is to promulgate the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church to all the faithful. I will continue to do so.

GOD LOVE HIM!

It is a commonplace that, in parenting, you must behave consistently in disciplining your children. They must know precisely what consequences to expect in the wake of their misbehavior about which they have been previously warned. Correction cannot be variable.

Bishop Martino is establishing that he will be consistent.

He is being consistent in different ways.

First, there will be no surprise that correction will come when you do something that is not in harmony with the Church’s teaching.

Also, he is consistent with his divine mandate as a bishop of Holy Catholic Church.

If EVERY Bp in the USA were like Bp Martino the faithful would be well grounded in what the Church teaches and what morality requires. IF every Bp in the USA spoke out years ago like Bp Martino is now we would not have a socialist baby killer as President.

OK maybe this is overthetop but….THIS MAN SHOULD NOT BE JUST A BISHOP. This guy should be cardinal! IN all seriousness I wonder why people like this wonderful man, Arhchbishop BUrke, Archbishop Chaput……why are these people just archbishops and not cardinals?!

Fr Z, you parent comment struck the nail on the head. Far too many Bishops and Priests are afraid to be “Fathers”. (Then again many parents appear to be afraid to be fathers these days. Everybody wants warm fuzzy feelings and not discipline.)

Almighty Father, we thank thee for the faithfulness of Bishop Martino. We thank thee for the grace thou hast given him to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Christ to a world choking in putrescence. We beseech thee to pour out this grace upon all the bishops of the United States, and the World, that thy Holy Catholic Church may rise up against the enemy of our Souls and drive from the world all the darkness which now festers in every corner. Embolden them, dear Lord, and lift up the hearts of thy faithful to join them in this Holy Crusade!

St. Peter, pray for us.
St. Paul, pray for us.
St. Clement of Rome, pray for us.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, pray for us.

“Furthermore, no presentation was made to balance Mr. Boykin’s viewpoints with the teaching of the Catholic Church.”

That is the key. Had Misericordia hosted Mr. Boykin as an opportunity to showcase proper Catholic teaching, instead of giving him an open forum to give his views without any response, this would not be an issue.

I attend a conservative evangelical college that two years ago, allowed a “Christian” homosexual organization to come and present on campus.
The College:

1) provided copious materials, seminars, and discussions before the group ever got here to prepare students for a defense of traditional Christian morals.

2) they asked forgiveness for any ways Christians had wronged homosexuals, but held firmly that it is not an option for any Christian.

3) at every presentation by this group, there was an orthodox rebuttal.

Far from encouraging a more liberal, open view of homosexuality, it instilled a more conservative, orthodox view since the arguments for “Christian” homosexuality were so clearly refuted at every turn. It became painfully clear which side was well thought out, well argued, and well enacted, and which side boiled down to the feelings of the individual.

Do the good people of Scranton realise how blessed they are in having such a Shepherd?
I love that ‘job description’ in the last sentence of the postscript! Let’s pray that all Bishops will have the courage to emulate His Excellency Most Reverend Joseph Martino.

God bless him! I’m glad to see this handled so publicly. I once worked for a CINO college run by lapel-pin-nuns & figured out too late that the percent of the student body that was Catholic was significantly less than the percent of the local population that was Catholic. Clearly, the locals knew things by rumor I didn’t. I really appreciate the effort of this bishop to 1. DO His Job, 2. make this info. public —so Catholic parents can make informed decisions, as can faithful Catholics who might otherwise mistakenly apply for a job there.

God bless Bishop Martino. Good and great man. I wish we could get him here in Los Angeles in 2011. Heh-heh. If he did you, you’d see and hear clergy and lay leaving here screaming like a demon being exorcised. Cool.

Reality though has to be balanced against this assertion by Martino. It is well and good he proclaims the Truth and teachings of the Church, but in that, what more can he do beyond writing very strong letters? He can’t force that putrid university to change anything. There was that other bishop who was at odds with another college and they told that bishop they were done with him and removed him from their board. ??

=====

BlessedKarl wrote:

“OK maybe this is overthetop but….THIS MAN SHOULD NOT BE JUST A BISHOP. This guy should be cardinal! IN all seriousness I wonder why people like this wonderful man, Archbishop Burke, Archbishop Chaput……why are these people just archbishops and not cardinals?!”

)(

Karl, the reason being is not because of greatness of authenticity ( we know there are many lousy cardinals ) but because of the position they hold. Scranton and Denver are not an archdiocese or a metropolitan See. Archbishop Burke will be getting a Red Hat in the next Consistory because he is a prefect now and the Lord Chief Justice as it were of our Church.

Here’s a good prayer (from “Manual of Prayers” p. 280 published by Pontifcal North American College).

Prayer for a Bishop

“God, eternal shepherd, you tend your Church in many ways and rule us with love. You have so chosen your servant, N., to be a shepherd of your flock. Give him a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowldege and love. By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care, may he build your Church as a sign of salvation for the world.” Amen.

Thank God for Bishop Martino! And if I may be so bold to offer this prayer: That the next bishop of Duluth may have the gifts of courage and the a fidelity to Christ that Bishop Martino expresses in his shepherding. Amen. :)

Hoorah! May God grant him many more years! I pray that more bishops will follow his lead all over the world. Good for him, taking upon himself the mantle of Christ without fear – let us continue to pray for him and for all bishops and priests, that they courageously preach the Gospel of Christ loyally as Bishop Martino is.

Scranton is a blessed diocese. Not only do they have such a formidable bishop, they also have an FSSP chapel there with a great young priest, Father James Gordon FSSP. He said Mass at our chapel, St. Benedict’s Chesapeake VA, last Sunday, and he was very impressive (he’s from here actually, back home for a visit). Scranton is lucky to have him too.

Slight correction, Matt Q. Denver is, in fact, an archdiocese and a metropolitan archdiocese. I suppose the Holy Father had his reasons for choosing Houston and Abp. DiNardo, but I can\’t help but regret that the reasons for choosing Denver and Abp. Chaput weren\’t just as compelling or more so. But yes, there will be time and open opportunities to come. And, back on subject, ad multos annos, Bp. Martino!

Well, folks, things may be changing for the better overall. Benedict XVI is now at the helm and he’s steering us into more authentic waters. I believe he takes a greater interest and more hands-on choosing of his bishops than did his predecessor. A quick look at those he appointed thus far is a good sign. Please pray he lasts long enough to complete his changes or at establish enough to make it more difficult for his successor to change… or unless we get a hard-core one like this one… maybe Burke. Wouldn’t that be a hoot.

I’m a priest of Scranton and one of the greatest blessings that I have enjoyed in my short sacerdotal life is being a subject of this great bishop. Please pray for him, too many of his priests do not appreciate what a gift from God it is to have a bishop that is utmost interested in the life of grace, the salvation of souls, and the purity of doctrine.

This is the best statement I have seen from a bishop on the nature and mission of the Catholic university, which springs from the heart of the Church.

The good bishop is properly sensible of the institutional responsibility of the Catholic university – and I am more and more convinced that a proper understanding of what an institution is in general, must be recovered if our civilization is to survive.

Reminds me of a certain bishop of Auxerre, Germanus by name and his story by Hillaire Belloc…

The Pelagian Drinking Song

Pelagius lived at Kardanoel
And taught a doctrine there
How, whether you went to heaven or to hell
It was your own affair.
It had nothing to do with the Church, my boy,
But was your own affair.

No, he didn’t believe
In Adam and Eve
He put no faith therein!
His doubts began
With the Fall of Man
And he laughed at Original Sin.
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
He laughed at original sin.

Then came the bishop of old Auxerre
Germanus was his name
He tore great handfuls out of his hair
And he called Pelagius shame.
And with his stout Episcopal staff
So thoroughly whacked and banged
The heretics all, both short and tall —
They rather had been hanged.

Oh he whacked them hard, and he banged them long
Upon each and all occasions
Till they bellowed in chorus, loud and strong
Their orthodox persuasions.
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
Their orthodox persuasions.

Now the faith is old and the Devil bold
Exceedingly bold indeed.
And the masses of doubt that are floating about
Would smother a mortal creed.
But we that sit in a sturdy youth
And still can drink strong ale
Let us put it away to infallible truth
That always shall prevail.

And thank the Lord
For the temporal sword
And howling heretics too.
And all good things
Our Christendom brings
But especially barley brew!
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
Especially barley brew!

I myself am from the Scranton Diocese and am so honored to have Bishop Martino lead us. If i could ask you all, please consider taking 1 minute out of your day to call or fax Bishop Martino’s Office to let him know what a great job he is doing. I have already called on other issues, and plan on continuing. I’m sure that for every compliment he gets 100 nasty people who are against him. Lets show the great Bishop that he has our support!!!

Paladin:
Don’t be so quick to appoint Archbishop Chaput as prefect for the CDWDS. A reading of the Pastoral Handbook for the Archdioese of Denver regarding the EF suggests that he may not be a real enthusiastic supporter of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. (Not to mention the liturgical abuse that occur in some parishes within the Archdiocese.)

Pace Dr. Eric and Irish, there’s another Midwestern Archbishopric that is open. Not on the Mississippi, but on Lake Michigan – Milwaukee. Could we have him, please? He could straighten out (Jesuit) Marquette U. among other things around here.

Fr. WTC, we are praying for your Bishop and you as well. Draw strength from his words and deeds and build upon them in your parish.We in the Church, even thousands of miles from Scranton, benefit from this leadership and example.

Archbishop Chaput obviously prefers the Novus Ordo, and I’m fine with that- and no, perhaps he is not the most enthusiastic supporter of the TLM, but I think it is fair to say that he is not an enthusiastic opponant to it either. He has not done anything to stand in the way of Summorum Pontificum, or in the way of the legitimate aspirations of traditional Catholics, he’s respectful of us, and certainly has not said anything to grossly offend us (like a certain Cardinal-archbishop recently did).. and let’s not forget that he allowed the Solemn Pontifical Mass in his cathedral last Nov. 9. And furthermore, I don’t think that ANY bishop has the power or ability to reign in ALL liturgical abuse in his diocese – he can certainly do all in his power to discourage it, he can ask offending priests to knock it off, and he can certainly be a passionate promoter of priestly vocations among the youth of his diocese – to ensure future generations of orthodox priests. I was dismayed that Archbishop Chaput was not named to my archdiocese when it was vacant two years ago- he would have done great here considering the guy who’s living in the White House!

Do ya think Misericordia might be starting to learn something. Rather than go through the local paper this time, they have released a statement on the univeristy website.

Misericordia University statement
03-3-09

Misericordia University releases the following statement in response to Bishop Martino’s comments on Tuesday, March 3:

Misericordia University is working diligently to schedule a meeting with the Bishop and his delegates so dialogue can be established among representatives of our founders and sponsors, the Religious Sisters of Mercy, university administrators, members of the Board of Trustees and the Diocese.

Misericordia University respects the Bishop’s position. The University looks forward to resolving these concerns directly with Bishop Martino.

Founded and Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County’s first four-year college and offers 31 academic majors on the graduate and undergraduate levels in full and part-time formats.

Notice how there is no “but” after stating that the university respects Bishop Martino’s position. They ended it, period.

Then they go on to do some damage control at the end there. The heat is getting turned up and perhaps it will hit them in the pocket book. In one local paper there I read one parent saying she had no idea this kind of stuff was going on at that school and was glad the bishop brought it to light.

Check out the Pastoral Handbook, i.e. Bluebook, on the Archdiocese of Denver’s website and then see if you are still of the opiniion that Archbishop Chaput has done nothing to stand in the way of SP. You might find the “requirements” for celebrating the EF to be more in line with some of the more outspoken opponents of the EF and not necessarily in line with SP. Concerning his respect for us, let us not forget that there is huge SSPX community in Colorado that has built a large beautiful church east of Denver. It just may be this “respect” has something to do with the forgoing. It is true that one cannot stop ALL litugical abuse and I did not infer that he could. One could expect however, that once it is brought to his attention, the messenger isn’t shot. Finally, while he better than some, I have yet to see him say publiclly, or privately for that matter, that he will refuse communion to pro-abort politicans . . . and until they are denied communion, it still remains nothing but talk. [This has nothing to do with the topic of this entry. Rabbit hole closed.]

That’s my bishop! I can’t believe how blessed I am to be in a diocese with this man as its head. God bless him! I wish more in our diocese appreciated him. With so many parishes and schools having to close over the past couple years there has been a lot of bitterness directed towards him. Please pray for him.

This man is so, so, so what the Church needs more of. He is a real lion. God bless him! To the commenter noting Rigali’s age – we’re not ready to get rid of him just yet! But when the time comes, I would love to see +Martino as Archbishop of Philadelphia!!!

Reminds me of Sesame Street’s “one of these things is not like the other . . .” Respectfully said, Archbishop Chaput talks the talk (and very well), but does he walk the walk? What has he DONE in his own Archdiocese with the public, obstinate, manifest, pro-abort polticians on both the local and federal level? What did he DO when Denver hosted the DNC last summer? When you answer that, you’ll know that he does not belong with Burke and Martino.

I agree: Bishop Martino needs to be heard and
recognized throughout the country by this generation,
a culture of death, as Archbishop Fulton Sheen
was in the past.

Way to go, Philly Bishop!

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Food For Thought

“The legalization of the termination of pregnancy is none other than the authorization given to an adult, with the approval of an established law, to take the lives of children yet unborn and thus incapable of defending themselves. It is difficult to imagine a more unjust situation, and it is very difficult to speak of obsession in a matter such as this, where we are dealing with a fundamental imperative of every good conscience — the defense of the right to life of an innocent and defenseless human being.”

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“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?... The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”

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